Popemania Intensifies, Immigration Officials Allowed Back in L.A. Jails, Police Chase in Texas Ends with Six Dead: P.M. Links

• Be on the lookout for the man known as Pope Francis. A lot of "official" folks seem to want to meet with him for some reason.

• Federal agents have been allowed back into Los Angeles County jails to look for illegal immigrants detained there, but will only be allowed to interview those accused of "serious" crimes.
• Six died when an SUV believed to have been carrying up to 15 immigrants flipped over in Texas during a police chase.
• An ISIS bomber disguised as a woman blew himself up at a mosque in Yemen, killing at least 10.
• Snoop Dog is launching a lifestyle site for marijuana lovers called Merry Jane.
• A couple in in Oregon got a Verizon bill for $2 million. Should have gone with the unlimited texting plan.
• More class-action lawsuits are being filed in California by people who demand to be treated as employees, not contractors, of sharing economy delivery services like DoorDash and GrubHub.

New at Reason.com

Dying Patients vs. the FDA: 'Right to Try' Laws Give Hope - And Time
Dave Huntley was a father, husand, & triathlete who contracted Lou Gehrig's Disease. But the FDA was his biggest foe.
By Alex Manning

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and don't forget to sign up for Reason's daily updates for more content.

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Snoop Dog is launching a lifestyle site for marijuana lovers called Merry Jane.

The next Dread Pirate Roberts!

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello.

"An ISIS bomber disguised as a woman blew himself up at a mosque in Yemen, killing at least 10."

Progressive transgender politics has reached ISIS.

Success!

[Pan Zagloba]

No, he's a horrible misogynist. How dare he appropriate a sister's culture, and deny her a place in heaven to boot?

[Rhywun]

I've seen one or two pictures of ISIS lady-boys. They're not fooling anybody, that's for sure.

[Ted S.]

I never knew you were into lady-boys.

[C. Anacreon]

How can anyone tell what someone looks like when they're wearing a burka?

[Heroic Mulatto]

How can anyone tell what someone looks like when they're wearing a burka?

That's a good question. Currently in the news, a lot of folks are wailing and gnashing their teeth about how two members of the devil state of Israel shot a burka-clad woman who rushed a military checkpoint.

From this, I can only assume Jews must possess X-ray vision.

[Trshmnstr doesn't recycle]

Insert one of many Borat quotes here

[Free Society]

Gosh HM, it's not like Hezbollah purposefully builds their missile launch sites and military fortifications around hospitals and schools. Everyone knows Jews just want to inflict as many civilian causalities as possible, because all that loss of life and bad PR works to their advantage, for reasons I don't care to explain.

[Heroic Mulatto]

She has been identified as Hadil al-Hashlamon, a first-year student at Hebron University and the daughter of Dr. Salaheddin Hashlamon, head of the anesthesia department of the Al-Ahli Hospital in Hebron

I blame the grinding poverty.

[Pan Zagloba]

Racist cis shitlord, your kind is not welcome to Canada. EVER!

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Really, have you seen any pictures of ISIS women? I'm thinking they may have fooled other ISIS members.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

You people are awful.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Rufus was fooled.

[Citizen X]

Twice.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I came for the civil discourse that was promised.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Sorry, this is abuse.

SHUT YOUR FESTERING GOB, YOU TIT! YOUR TYPE MAKES ME PUKE! YOU VACUOUS TOFFEE-NOSED MALODOROUS PERVERT!!!

[Trshmnstr doesn't recycle]

Don't get fooled again!

[Fist of Etiquette]

A lot of "official" folks seem to want to meet with him for some reason.

Indulgences.

[jester]

Al Gore sells indulgences too (carbon offsets), so he's got competition from a capitalist pig pope.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Federal agents have been allowed back into Los Angeles County jails to look for illegal immigrants detained there, but will only be allowed to interview those accused of "serious" crimes.

And as long as they promise not to look into how the jail is run.

[Pan Zagloba]

How many county clerks were arrested for refusing to enforce federal law? And did the feds get to interview them, too?

[Just say Nikki]

Six died when an SUV believed to have been carrying up to 15 immigrants flipped over in Texas during a police chase.

So this is what Drudge was calling an ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CRASH, I guess. Of course it is.

[Antilles]

people who demand to be treated as employees

Ironic that their actions will likely result in their unemployment...

[Ted S.]

Uber and other "sharing economy" companies have big piles of money, and dammit, that's just not fair!

[grrizzly]

Nope. You need a law firm and one person who worked there at some point.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

My guess is they never really wanted to be treated like employees either...

Plaintiffs or Union Shills, maybe, but not employees.

[egould310]

Correctamundo!!

[Rhywun]

From the article it's only apparent that the lawyer wants them to be treated as employees. Imagine that.

[Antilles]

For those who wondered why I previously dismissed Ben Carson as a religious nut (warning, links to Slate):

http://tinyurl.com/ns46syf

How can someone of his obvious intelligence actually believe this stuff?

[Mad Scientist]

Because he WANTS to believe it.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

The magic of faith?

[Antilles]

Because he WANTS to believe it.

Why is believing in something contrary to all scientific evidence considered a virtue to so many people? No one can prove one way or the other if God exists, but evolution and the Big Bang are well-established theories. I don't see how someone can ignore that.

[Mad Scientist]

It's only a virtue to the people who choose to believe the same stories. As far as I'm concerned they're all emotionally weak.

[Tejicano]

I have known people who, when facing the question of the meaning of life, the smallness of man, what they can contribute, they were depressed by the explanation offered by the secular world. Most of these people remained depressed. The few I knew who adopted a religion seemed happier. Not for me but I won't fault those who find comfort in it.

[Antilles]

Many studies have shown that people with strong religious convictions tend to be happier because they believe they have all the answers, and are somehow special. I tried to believe when I was younger, but too many aspects of religion didn't add up or make sense to me. But everyone has the right to believe whatever they want, and I don't want to impose my views onto someone else (unless they ask) just as I don't want them to impose their views on me (unless I ask).

[Lee G]

Well, a certain number of commenters here believe that without religion you cannot have a system of ethics as much as Carson believes it.

Carson just takes it to the next level and says that a belief in evolution, while it may not preclude an ethical system, certainly makes it much more unlikely.

[Antilles]

Well, if rape and murder were suddenly legal I wouldn't go out and start raping and murdering. Because I have empathy and couldn't live with the knowledge I'd intentionally harmed someone to achieve a selfish goal. No religion taught me to feel this way, and I don't need the promise of Heaven or threat of Hell to not hurt other people.

[Lee G]

I don't believe you.

(To quote one of our esteemed fellow commenters)

[Antilles]

The worst kids in my old high school were the Catholics. Because they felt they could do anything they want, confess it, and then sleep like a baby knowing they'd been forgiven. The rest of us, on the other hand, have to live with the consequences of our actions. And that's another reason why I don't screw people over for my own benefit.

[jesse.in.mb]

Catholics. Because they felt they could do anything they want, confess it, and then sleep like a baby knowing they'd been forgiven.

That's...odd. I would think the whole forgiveness of sins thing would show up in other brands of Christianity.

[Lee G]

Catholics are more formalized in the forgiveness process.

[Antilles]

I think it's different because the Catholics have an authority figure (the priest) who tells them "do this and do that" and they'll be forgiven. Whereas in the other flavors of Christianity you have to pray to God and hope he accepts your forgiveness--without any indication that He has. I had one good friend who made it a point to 'sin' a few times a week just so he'd have something to confess on Sunday.

[Notorious UGCC]

"I had one good friend who made it a point to 'sin' a few times a week just so he'd have something to confess on Sunday."

"Among the penitent's acts contrition occupies first place. Contrition is "sorrow of the soul and detestation for the sin committed, together with the resolution not to sin again.""

http://www.vatican.va/archive/.....s2c2a4.htm

[Notorious UGCC]

Also,

"The penitent's acts are repentance, confession or disclosure of sins to the priest, and the intention to make reparation and do works of reparation."

[Antilles]

the intention to make reparation and do works of reparation.

Yep. My friend just lied, or made some half-assed attempt at absolution. He's an Atheist now.

[Sapient Mulch]

Well, Kim Davis was born again and washed clean o..ulp.

Sorry, Just threw up in my mouth.

[The Last American Hero]

I hope somebody told them it doesn't work that way.

[Antilles]

I hope somebody told them it doesn't work that way.

I tried, but in their eyes I was an evil sinner who was going to Hell. My opinion didn't matter.

[Sapient Mulch]

Yeah? Well how many chapters in a holy book have you written? Huh?

Yeah. That's what I thought.

/believer

[DEG]

You didn't go to Catholic School?

The Catholic schools I went to had consequences for actions.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Because they felt they could do anything they want, confess it, and then sleep like a baby knowing they'd been forgiven.

I think they missed the part of Christian belief where they actually have to be sorry for what they did because they knew it was wrong, not because they think confession is a Get Out of Hell Free card.

[Carl, Fighter of the Nightman]

The rest of us, on the other hand, have to live with the consequences of our actions.

SOLA FIDE BITCHES!!!

[Trshmnstr doesn't recycle]

That's great, but you were raised in a society largely shaped by ethical and moral norms derived from religion.

Not only that, but while you may have certain emotional "no go zones" regarding hurting other people, your situation is by no means universal. There are plenty of people who have no qualms with trodding over others to get their way.

The end game of my argument is that morality outside of some absolute foundation is arbitrary and largely just a normative behavior to avoid friction in a community. As libertarians, don't we avoid the "majority rules" type foundations for our principles?

[Lee G]

Just a normative behavior to avoid friction in a community...

Much like religion

[Sapient Mulch]

"Just a normative behavior to avoid friction in a community..."

Shit, I thought he was talking about oral sex.

*reviews notes*

[Trshmnstr doesn't recycle]

Much like religion

Viewed through an atheist lens, religion is just another social grouping trying to impose their value judgments on their members and the world at large.

[Antilles]

There are plenty of people who have no qualms with trodding over others to get their way.

I believe these people are in a tiny minority, and are likely sociopaths or at least very immature. But most people have empathy toward others, and are unlikely to victimize them because they themselves don't wish to be victimized.

[Trshmnstr doesn't recycle]

unlikely to victimize them because they themselves don't wish to be victimized.

The golden rule, absent some deeper ethical foundation, is mere utilitarianism, or is based on a crude belief in karma (a religious concept). There is no natural reaction that guarantees that I'm going to "get what's coming to me" just because I'm a dick. Some of the biggest assholes in the world are some of the most successful people.

[Antilles]

The golden rule

Yeah, I just treat everyone how I'd like to be treated. But if someone's an asshole to me, I can be an asshole right back. And just because the Bible contains a few truths doesn't give it credibility. There are enough provably incorrect items in the Bible that undermine the rest of it, at least for me. I don't doubt the word of God but I question the word of men who claim to speak on His behalf.

[Trshmnstr doesn't recycle]

Let's hypothetically assume that God doesn't exist, and we know that with 100% certainty. The Bible is irrelevant, the Torah is irrelevant, the Quran, etc. The only religious text still relevant is the Kama Sutra.

In this situation, why be good? Where's the dispassionate economic analysis? Where is the libertarian bucking of the majoritarian impulse? Why, when it comes to a bunch of arbitrary rules imposed on you by millennia of superstition, do you want to stay within the lines? You don't do it for politics, so why so straight laced about morality?

[Warty]

I don't believe in any gods, and I have murdered all the people I want to murder and raped all the people I want to rape*. Have you?

*Fuck you, SugarFree, the character you invented makes this argument impossible for me to make here.

[Derpetologist]

"In this situation, why be good?"

Because there are consequences for your actions in this life.

"Where's the dispassionate economic analysis?"

Playing nice makes most people's lives easier.

Even people who enjoy hurting others have to play nice most of the time just to avoid being caught and punished.

"Where is the libertarian bucking of the majoritarian impulse?"

Being libertarian does not mean doing the opposite of everyone else on all things as a matter of principle.

[Trshmnstr doesn't recycle]

"In this situation, why be good?"

Because there are consequences for your actions in this life.

"Where's the dispassionate economic analysis?"

Playing nice makes most people's lives easier.

Even people who enjoy hurting others have to play nice most of the time just to avoid being caught and punished.

Bingo, exactly. It's an utilitarian judgment based on risk factors and incentives. Of course, doing something that will get you punished doesn't make what you're doing bad, which is what I'm getting at. If we strip away TEH FEELZ, majoritarianism, and utilitarianism, what is left to judge good and evil? I submit that there is nothing left, and that Nietzsche is right in an Atheist lens. Appeals to objectivity are merely manifestations of a subjective will.

"Where is the libertarian bucking of the majoritarian impulse?"

Being libertarian does not mean doing the opposite of everyone else on all things as a matter of principle.

Right, but my point was that libertarians don't hold the "argumentum ad populum" in very high esteem in other contexts. I can't think of a single other context where "everybody else does it" is persuasive to libertarians.

[Derpetologist]

I just noticed this reply. While it's true that the consensus can be wrong, it is correct more often than not. A fact is merely a statement that people have stopped arguing about.

The trouble for libertarians is trying to convince people that this is one of those rare times when the consensus on politics is wrong.

A lot of people think the ad populum fallacy means that a consensus means nothing, when it instead it just means that the consensus can be wrong. Just because popular ideas CAN be wrong does not mean they ARE wrong.

[Trshmnstr doesn't recycle]

There are a thousand different, really cool directions this discussion could go... too bad it's impossible to do so on this medium.

[Derpetologist]

If you want to email me, click my handle to view my real name. My email is my [e-mail].

[Antilles]

In this situation, why be good?

In order for a society to exist and flourish there must be rule of law. And establishing laws that benefit and protect everyone is essential. In my opinion, what should be allowed and not allowed is common sense. Does someone's action(s) harm or endanger others? If not, then it's no one's business. However, it they do, then that action may have to be outlawed, or at least limited in some way. The problem with basing laws on the rules in a religious book is that too many benign activities (eating pork, having gay sex, etc.) become criminalized as well. How do you reconcile that in a (supposedly) secular society?

[Enough About Woodchippers]

I believe these people are in a tiny minority

Clearly, you've never been in my neighborhood.

[kbolino]

That's great, but you were raised in a society largely shaped by ethical and moral norms derived from religion ... As libertarians, don't we avoid the "majority rules" type foundations for our principles?

Are you attempting to posit contradictory positions, or just identify a contradiction?

[Just say Nikki]

The end game of my argument is that morality outside of some absolute foundation is arbitrary and largely just a normative behavior to avoid friction in a community.

Is there some non-arbitrary "absolute foundation"?

[Trshmnstr doesn't recycle]

Not if there is no God. Absolutism or Nihilism. Everything else is just going along to get along.

[Pan Zagloba]

Dostoyevsky certainly thought so. I think he gave atheism/secularism a fair shake in Crime and Punishment, if you think Inspector Petrovich is not just fucking around with Raskolnikov, but is trying to get him to confess to crime rather than just throw him in jail and see him turn into career criminal there (I argued in class that Inspector and Sofia aren't devil and angel, but secular and religious conscience putting forward their point of view).
And no offense to commentariat, but Dostoyevsky was smarter than any of us here by any meaningful measure.

[Pan Zagloba]

(Thanks, threading - that was in response to "Absolutism or Nihilism. Everything else is just going along to get along.")

[Derpetologist]

Morality is a useful fiction. So are language, units of measure, and money.

I do not need to prove the Dollar is The One True Currency or that English is The One True Language to justify using them. In a similar way, I do not need to prove that the Golden Rule is really golden to justify following it.

In a similar way, I can respect people who say that while they can't prove their religion is true, they follow it because it works for them.

[Mickey Rat]

Unfortunately, saying morality is a useful fiction means that the concept of rights are as well and may be disposed of when someone decides they no longer prove useful.

[Trshmnstr doesn't recycle]

You cut to the end of my argument, which is that without innate human dignity, expressed through the concept of natural law, and applied in doctrines such as the NAP, libertarianism is merely one of many flavors of politics. There is no imperative for you to like libertarianism over statism any more than there is an imperative for you to like grape popsicles over strawberry popsicles.

[paranoid android]

You cut to the end of my argument, which is that without innate human dignity, expressed through the concept of natural law, and applied in doctrines such as the NAP, libertarianism is merely one of many flavors of politics. There is no imperative for you to like libertarianism over statism any more than there is an imperative for you to like grape popsicles over strawberry popsicles.

So what makes "because God says so" a more useful imperative than "because I like it"?

[paranoid android]

Actually for "because God says so", substitute, "because my flawed understanding of a being which is by definition beyond my comprehension apparently says so"

[Trshmnstr doesn't recycle]

So what makes "because God says so" a more useful imperative than "because I like it"?

In an Atheist lens? Nothing. Like I posted above, there are two outcomes:

If God exists with 100% certainty ---- Moral Absolutism
If there is no God with 100% certainty --- Nihilism

Since we have no way of knowing either with 100% certainty, humanity has appeared to embrace some sort of subjectivist moral objecto-relativism....

things that make me feel icky are bad, with exception of a handful of things that make me feel icky but shouldn't, which aren't bad. Things that make me feel happy are good, with exception of a handful of things that make me feel happy but shouldn't, which aren't good.

[Derpetologist]

"There is no imperative for you to like libertarianism over statism any more than there is an imperative for you to like grape popsicles over strawberry popsicles."

The difference between being either for or against liberty is vastly more substantial than flavors of popsicles. The reason why is because liberty leads to vastly different results than statism. Just because something is arbitrary doesn't mean one arbitrary thing cannot be better than another. Standard numerals are just as arbitrary as Roman numerals, but the first is easier to use than the other.

You say you want an absolute source for your morality, but you accept all kinds of arbitrary things as a matter of practicality. I've never met anyone who agonized over why people in the US drive on the right side of the road. They do it because it makes the roads safer if everyone agrees to this arbitrary standard.

[Trshmnstr doesn't recycle]

The difference between being either for or against liberty is vastly more substantial than flavors of popsicles.

Right, but it is still the same type of choice... an utilitarian choice.

The question at hand is whether moral judgment is anything more than arbitrary preference.

The contention that the gravity of the choice somehow imputes morality to the decision seems wrong on its face. Which is more of a moral question? Taking 5 pieces of candy when the bucket has a sign that says "Take One?" or choosing between majoring in engineering or chemistry in college?

Obviously the choice of major is much more substantial than disregarding the rule about candy. Is it more of a moral question than taking the candies?

Just because something is arbitrary doesn't mean one arbitrary thing cannot be better than another.

Yes it does. When your measurement of goodness is subjective, then you cannot make any objective categorical assessment of goodness.
Is goodness economic efficiency? It's economically efficient on a macro level to kill welfare leaches.
Is goodness majoritarian? We talk all the time about 2 wolves and a sheep voting for dinner. Tyranny of the majority is a real issue here.
Is goodness subjective? If so, punishing people for being "bad" is just "might makes right." Also, our subjective feelings, especially on corner cases, are really unpredictable. It's quite hard to establish hard-and-fast rules based on emotions.

[Derpetologist]

"When your measurement of goodness is subjective..."

Ah, but my measures are not subjective, at least in the sense I can measure the goodness objectively. Speaking English is objectively better when you already speak it and live in an English-speaking country. It's the path of least resistance. In a similar way, regular numbers are better than Roman numerals because they allow people to do math by manipulating a smaller number of symbols. If you believe that it is better to do things the easiest way, the choice to use regular numerals is easy to justify.

Let's cut to the chase: you believe your morality is correct because you trust the standard your religion gives you. The real question is: why should I believe your standard over the many others that teach similar things?

To me, it's like you're arguing that everyone should speak English because other languages don't exist and the only alternative is to make up your own language.

The whole reason we can talk is because we are both adhering to an arbitrary set of standards.

[Greg Gutfelt's Nutpunch]

Antilles,

the rabbit hole you are looking for is determinism/freewill.

All non-religious atheist worldviews are unable to achieve secular ethics because they can't abstract personal responsibility (this worldview explicitly proscribes unique identity)

Matter is 100% determined by universal laws (according to science). Agency requires a non-transferable un-interferable origin of cause, and that cause needs to be specifically unique to that actor.

Matter is fully transferable and interchangeable with other matter.

You can't create a moral agent from that building block. You need an immaterial origin of cause to stop blaming behavior on universal law. All matter obeys all universal law all the time, at least in a secular worldview. Where does that put culpability?

Secular ethics isn't challenged in creating transpersonal dynamics between actors. It's challenged in that it says actors may not exist, and that all outcomes are based on omnipresent laws that do not map to "individuals" uniquely. Everything that happens is then blamed on universal law.

Determinism is the great evil we all fight against. In politics its Marxism, in culture is the victimhood olympics (feminism, anti-racism, anti-homophobia), and in metaphysics its atheism. It says we don't have a choice, and therefore our preferences are meaningless and not sacrosanct expressions of magic unique freewill. You can't build a rational case for rights emanating from the individual without freewill.

[Notorious UGCC]

"Well, a certain number of commenters here believe that without religion you cannot have a system of ethics"

To whom are you referring?

As for myself, I know of many non-religious ethical systems.

And technically, I don't believe that a person's knowledge of right and wrong comes from religion.

It comes from God. Yes, even an atheist's knowledge of right and wrong comes from God.

What a good religion does is check those tendencies by which people ignore their inborn knowledge of right and wrong.

Murder was wrong before Sinai. It's just that at Sinai, the ban on murder was included in a divine covenant.

[Greg Gutfelt's Nutpunch]

It's not that you can't have a set of ethics, its that the set of ethics have no subjects to apply to.

Determinism hoards all causality to one cause: physical law. Selfs have no input, and thus can't be culpable.

In a non-religious atheism, "actors" are really passengers. You can have a logical interpersonal set of rules, you just believe we are all passengers without blame. You can't hold a passenger responsible for the actions of physical law.

Secular ethics doesn't fail on transpersonal rules, it fails Des Cartes "I think therefore I am". They proscribe the existence of the self, as magic.

Those who can digest some of the implications are want to say "choice is an illusion".

[Irish ?s ESB]

Because compartmentalization is a hell of a drug and many people are capable of being incredibly knowledgeable within their field of expertise and incredibly ignorant outside of it.

[Free Society]

That's true of almost everyone. It explains why somewhere out there is a neurosurgeon who pays to get his oil changed or a particle physicist who voted for Obama.

[The Last American Hero]

I don't want my neurosurgeon doing anything that could damage those life-saving hands. Leave the oil change to the grease monkey.

[Mad Scientist]

Is there some reason why neurosurgeons should change their own oil?

[Warty]

Sometimes poor people don't understand that time has value.

[gaoxiaen]

Some people like to work on their own vehicles.

[Free Society]

It's easy and they're smart. And yet they may posses no knowledge of cars and all that. Smart people are supposed to know everything damn it!!!

[jesse.in.mb]

It's easy and they're smart.

Not really. When I was 5 I was changing the oil on my mom's VW Beetle from the '60s. THAT was easy, so easy a 5 year old could do it.

My '09 Fit is a sport model and so low it scrapes getting into and out of the driveway. While I COULD lift my car and clamber underneath to drain the oil, and hope that doing all of this on my inclined driveway doesn't lead to me dying in an embarrassing way, I could just give the red head with the permanent grease stain on his face* $20 dollars to do it for me.

*would. with extreme prejudice

[Warty]

'09 Fit is a sport model

You know, all this time I thought you were really a straight guy putting on some kind of homo-blackface act. This proves it.

[jesse.in.mb]

Claiming to have a Honda Fit could just be part of my ruse. Would a Miata been over-kill on that?

[waffles]

jesse I have a miata. It's fabulous. But it's not my daily. I have a subaru for that. I have both genders well covered.

[Mad Scientist]

Man, those weekly oil changes must be so frustrating!

[Red Rocks Rockin]

My '09 Fit is a sport model and so low it scrapes getting into and out of the driveway

It's not just the sporty cars that have this issue--it seems like it's damn near impossible to get underneath most modern cars to do simple shit like change the oil anymore. If I wanted to do that with our family sedans, I could either get lifts and, as you said, risk getting squashed, or take it down to the local jiffy lube or wherever and pay a bit extra for the convenience.

[Warty]

And the stupid fucking plastic shit they put under the engine makes it a huge pain in the ass to get at everything.

[Mad Scientist]

Depending on the car, the plastic under the engine is an integral part of the cooling system, forcing the high pressure air at the front of the car through the various radiators. The plastic crap on top of the engine, however, is completely useless.

[Warty]

That's fine, but why can't they put a fucking hole underneath the oil filter? Or at least a hinged panel, or something. I hate having to either take the whole panel off or trying to take the filter off through the hole that's unhelpfully a foot away from the filter.

[Mad Scientist]

Some modern cars have easy access, but a surprising number do not. I have no clue why not. It's as if they don't want you to do any maintenance.

[gaoxiaen]

That's why I prefer pre-1970 cars. Easier to work on and most breakdowns can be solved with a piece of wire.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Yeah, that too. As MS pointed out, it has a functional purpose, but it raises the aggravation level exponentially. Also, putting the oil filter in such a place that you'd have to be a circus contortionist to actually take it off.

[paranoid android]

He's a BRAIN SURGEON, Antilles. That obviously means he is more perceptive and wise in all things, even things that have nothing to do with his profession. Can you do brain surgery? No? Then what makes you think you know more about the creation of the universe than someone who can?

[Antilles]

Then what makes you think you know more about the creation of the universe than someone who can?

But I don't claim to know. In fact, I'll be the first to admit I have no clue how the universe came into being or what our purpose is (if we even have a purpose). Anyone who claims to know the answers is either a liar or delusional--possibly both.

[Florida Man]

I have a special purpose. It's fantastic. You should see it.

[C. Anacreon]

Is it named Flipper?

[Free Society]

Is it meth? Or death by sinkhole?

[Florida Man]

*looks down, kicks rock*

It's meth ... Like always.

[Free Society]

I know that you have it in you to be the best damn meth addict that the Great State of Florida has ever seen.

[Sapient Mulch]

+1 "Your mother's gonna love me!"

[C. Anacreon]

Brain surgery as something only for 'brilliant' people is way overrated.There's nothing about surgery on the nervous system that means you have to be more intelligent than any other type of surgery. It's still mainly a profession for people with skilled hands.

In other words, brain surgery ain't rocket science.

[Florida Man]

Really eye surgeons are pretty amazing. They use both hands and both feet, while looking through a microscope to operate.

[C. Anacreon]

Eye surgeons (ophthalmologists) are typically the very top students of the medical school classes. I think the top six people in my med school graduating class all went into ophtho. You are correct that they should be the ones considered amazing.

This all should help Rand Paul's reputation, yet the typical journalist/TV talking head thinks he is the guy who has you looking at the letter chart as he says "which is clearer -- number one, or number two?"

[Florida Man]

It doesn't help people get optometrist and optomologist confused.

[gaoxiaen]

Ophthalmologist.

[paranoid android]

I blame Lost for teaching people that neurosurgeons are naturally talented at everything and will naturally rise to leadership positions in stressful situations.

[egould310]

And rocket science ain't particle physics.

[Notorious UGCC]

"fundamentalism...shortchanges our children out of an education they'll need to survive in our science- and technology-based society."

Yeah, how can kids grow up to be doctors if they have mistaken ideas about geology and astronomy?

/sarc

[DEG]

I skimmed the article. The writer only touched a few of the kooky beliefs of Seventh-Day Adventists.

[Paul.]

Scott, first of all, it's Snoop Dogg.

Goddamn twitter generation.

Second of all, I'm strangely happy to ignore posts about the Pope as opposed to ignoring posts about Trump.

[Ted S.]

So you're the poster who likes the Trump posts!

[Paul.]

You could interpret it that way. Or you could interpret it the other way.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Damn you Paul, damn you to hell!

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

You're both wrong. He identifies as Snoop Lion.

#GetItRight #tbt

[Just say Nikki]

They say their first bill, which they thought would be $120, totaled $698 and showed a previous balance of $451. They did their best to argue it down, got a second bill for $9, and canceled the service altogether in December.

And people complain about AT&T.

[Mad Scientist]

It was the computer's fault!

Verizon issued a statement Wednesday noting that a "programming error in an automated voice response system" caused the ridiculous figure

[Paul.]

I remember a local story where a couple got a water bill in the tens of thousands. Turned out they had a leak.

City water company didn't really much care about their leak and wanted they money.

[gaoxiaen]

Happened to me. The water guy asked me if I just got a swimming pool.

[gaoxiaen]

It was only 200 or so dollars, in the early eighties.

[Ted S.]

What Verizon did is almost as bad as what the government does with it's fees and penalties.

[Lee G]

Ha

Verizon billed me 13 grand one time. I got it corrected and then received a bill for 8 grand the next month.

Never trust the idiots that work in the stores to enter your contract correctly.

[Just say Nikki]

The first month thing is really the kicker. "Um...yeah, pretty sure I do not actually have a past due balance..."

[Lee G]

Anything is possible with automated billing systems

[Juice]

Verizon is THE worst. Bar none. Had Fios for like 3 months and had to cancel. I couldn't take their billing bullshit anymore.

[jesse.in.mb]

A couple in in Oregon got a Verizon bill for $2 million. Should have gone with the unlimited texting plan.

I'm sure the lawsuit will pay for their dream home.

But while customer service reps have said they agree there's been a mistake, collection agencies have come calling. Slusher says his bank now won't sign off on a mortgage he and his girlfriend need to buy their dream house for their kids. Verizon issued a statement Wednesday noting that a "programming error in an automated voice response system" caused the ridiculous figure, but said it was being resolved

[Paul.]

That's interesting, they got a bill for $2 million, but collection agencies are calling. Did the couple ignore this $2 million dollar bill for 90 days or something?

[Lee G]

Odds are they didn't know where to go to resolve it. Having dealt with this situation myself, most Verizon employees are not knowledgeable enough or authorized to deal with mistakes like these nor do they know who is.

[Paul.]

An ISIS bomber disguised as a woman blew himself up at a mosque in Yemen, killing at least 10.

Great, so now we're applying our cisnormative gender assignments to everyone in the world?

[jesse.in.mb]

Damn your nimble fingers and faster refreshing.

[Crusty Juggler]

I hope all of you New York City commenters are doing the right thing and telecommuting the rest of this week.

[jesse.in.mb]

An ISIS bomber disguised as a woman blew himself up at a mosque in Yemen, killing at least 10.

A perfect example of progressive gender norms run amok!

[Crusty Juggler]

Two minutes too late. SMH.

[Paul.]

If you're not first, you're last jesse.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Somewhat related Re the commie Pope.

Mother Teresa visited our high school back in the 80s. We all gathered in the auditorium to hear her mumble (I have bad hearing so...whatever goodness she imparted went right over my head) sweet things. As she quietly walked down the cat walk all petite there was a deafening hush. Then Steve nudged me and whispered, 'I'd fuck her.'

This is my memory of MT coming to my high school.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

This Steve... what was his last name?

I know this is a stupid question, but I want confirmation.

[Lee G]

O

[Rufus J. Firefly]

He was of Hungarian heritage. Football player. Crazy as shit.

Before I do that.

[Ted S.]

Is that Ferenc Puskas football, or that wacky Canadian three-down thing with rouge?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

The latter. And our point after is harder to kick!

Puskas had sweet hair.

[Ted S.]

The NFL PAT is now a 33-yarder.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

I was looking for "Smith," but I guess he would not have merely talked about doing it.

[waffles]

Rufus,

Normally I find your stories tedious and overly Canadian. But this time you have won me over. I don't care what everyone has been saying about you. You keep on keeping on!

[Citizen X]

Wait, are you negging Rufus?

[waffles]

I thought that was the new thing around here. Well ever since Trump started negging the nation and Gillespie learned what pickup culture is.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Looks like it.

Next time I'll try to be more overly Norwegian.

[waffles]

Nobody ever says anything bad about Norway.

[Wasteland Wanderer]

Except the Swedes. Dudes hate each other...

[Carl, Fighter of the Nightman]

The Swedes I talked to said that they don't really mind the Norwegians, but the Norwegians mind them.

[C. Anacreon]

Flapping head and all, we loves ya, Rufus.
Too bad, though, about Mr. Garrison raping the Canadian President to death.

[Pan Zagloba]

You fuckers didn't learn nothing from the last Canadian War? And don't think you can execute Operation Hide Behind The Darkies this time!

[Rufus J. Firefly]

My stories are tedious?

And people talk behind my back?

Sheesh!

[jesse.in.mb]

I think it worked, waffles. Well negged. Go claim your Canadian prize.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

You want tedious? Don't make me tell the story of my preparing a pork tenderloin in the slow cooker and watching it for the whole six hours.

[jesse.in.mb]

I'm sorry, what were we talking about? I dozed off part way through that.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Fag.

[Antilles]

Ever see the episode of Bullshit where they revealed the real Mother Teresa? What a horrible, horrible woman...

[Mad Scientist]

She was an evil psychopath.

[Antilles]

And yet a lot of people want to see her made into a 'saint.' And if people like her are in Heaven, I don't want to go.

[Mad Scientist]

Who would want to go anyway? That place is full of sinners.

[gaoxiaen]

Wasn't she reincarnated as an English muffin or something?

[DEG]

Yes, that was a good episode.

[Jerry on the sea]

I think Hitchens also wrote a book about her.

[Antilles]

Hitchens appears on that episode to relate some of her more egregious acts--some of which were inadvertently confirmed by one of her supporters. Specifically, that seeing people suffering made her feel closer to God. Pretty fucked up.

[Pan Zagloba]

He was one of the people interviewed in the episode. Drunk, of course. Totally awesome, of course.

[Ayn Random Variation]

Here's some sweet schadenfreude:

http://www.nationalreview.com/.....ihan-salam

Tolerant Brooklyn hipsters upset that their snowflakes might have to go to school with the mongrels from the projects. To sum up, the hipster public school is overcrowded, so the city wants some of the students "bussed" over to the public school that's 90% black/brown, and that is not OK.

Money quote: "It's more complicated when it's about your own children"

[Trshmnstr doesn't recycle]

I don't know whether to punch these people's cheeks or be disgusted by them. They're just so clueless and insulated that its hard to blame them for being morons.

[Trshmnstr doesn't recycle]

Pinch*

[Illocust]

See what they should have done is sent out a survey with a question about hypothetical southern redneck getting their children bussed. Anyone that agree with the bussing in the hypothetical gets their children thrown in the bussing lottery. They try to bitch hold up their survey and post it on the school's facebook and twitter.

[jesse.in.mb]

I think planners are pretty continuously surprised by NIMBY fuckwitism. I wonder if the people doing the rezoning even thought far enough ahead to "hey there might be backlash on this"

Great quote:

Of course they want integration, they'll tell you, but only if it entails no sacrifice on their part. "It's more complicated when it's about your own children," says one Dumbo parent. Well, yes, it is more complicated, and that is exactly what every parent believes, whether they are in Brooklyn or South Boston or Kansas City.

[Just say Nikki]

Look, at least they're not sending their kids to private school. That would be white supremacist.

[Heroic Mulatto]

The neighborhood is called "Dumbo"?

Loki the Trickster is the one true god!

[Crusty Juggler]

The property taxes they pay to live in that neighborhood must be astronomical.

[Just say Nikki]

Down under the Manhattan Bridge overpass. It's so hot right now.

[Crusty Juggler]

There is a nice park in Dumbo, so there's that.

[Just say Nikki]

I do really like that park. And Dumbo is pretty cute.

[Heroic Mulatto]

I saw a peanut stand
Heard a rubber band
I saw a needle
That winked it's eye
But I think I will have
Seen everything
When I see
An elephant fly

[Pan Zagloba]

New proposal: every national anthem must have a verse explaining difference between Stated and Revealed Preferences.

[Juice]

"It's more complicated when it's about your own children,"

I was in favor of Obamacare, but I didn't think I'd be the one to pay for it!

[PapayaSF]

If the federal government simply stopped federal aid to any local government that refused to cooperate with ICE, I think a lot of this problem would solve itself rather quickly.

[Ted S.]

Nobody would co?perate with ICE, they'd go away, and the massive cut in spending to localities would eliminate the deficit?

[PapayaSF]

It couldn't hurt.

[kbolino]

The courts would force them to give out the money. And yes, I know all about South Dakota v. Dole; silly rabbit, principles are for suckers.

[Pan Zagloba]

Look, Papaya, this week local government is not expected to perform instructions coming down from federal government. Get with the program.

[Citizen X]

Re: the picture - why does Biden look so sad? And why does Boehner look like he wants to lick the pope's neck?

[PapayaSF]

Biden hates to listen to people who agree with him on abortion. It hurts his chances in Democratic primaries.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Because sad and perverted?

[Just say Nikki]

Those two questions make it sound like Biden and Boehner swapped bodies for the day.

[RBS]

So, a defendant in a case I am trying next month has asked the Judge to subpoena our local paper to cover the trial. I had no idea HOA ligation was so glamorous.

[Ted S.]

They want to *force* the newspaper to cover it?

No 1A problem there.

[RBS]

"He" wants to force the newspaper to cover it.

[Sapient Mulch]

"HOA ligation"

Oh how I wish there were such a thing!

[PapayaSF]

OT, and in case anyone missed this: STASI veteran will assist German government in Facebook censorship. The German Justice Minister wants to erase "xenophobic" content.

[Paul.]

Funny how useful all those old iron curtain-era officials have become with progressive groupthink.

[Paul.]

Holy Jesus, that is one severe looking woman.

[Crusty Juggler]

Severely sexy.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Sounds like CJ wants a spanking...

And is down with the gingers.

[Crusty Juggler]

I like women with skin that is so fair that when they go out in the sun they could explode like aluminum foil in a microwave.

[Sapient Mulch]

+1 Jiffy Pop

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Frightening.

Imagine a threesome with her and Ann Coulter!

[Crusty Juggler]

I may once again be going out on a limb here, but she seems like she would be a fun lay.

[waffles]

For you I think this is an expected response. She's not my type but I can imagine someone would.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

I'm not sure about 'fun', but definitely memorable...

[Wasteland Wanderer]

Hope you're into pegging...

[Paul.]

On Monday Facebook sent a delegation to meet with the Minister who has set forth a plan ? namely that a special task force scour Facebook and delete comments deemed inappropriate by the State.

Huh, you'd think that Facebook, were it not run by the Twitter generation would have taken this opportunity to appropriately to Germans demanding something. They could have sent a single word response: NUTS.

[Paul.]

opportunity to respond appropriately...

I think I got teh censor.

[This Machine]

I have got to stop clicking on links to pictures of women that Crusty approves of.

[Mrs. Lemuel Struthers]

I ate lunch at Panera today. 3 of the 5 cashiers had been replaced with touch-screen ordering kiosks. $15 minimum wage is not going to work in NJ.

[Paul.]

You don't think those kiosks deserve a living wage?

[Certified Public Asshat]

#machinesmatter

[This Machine]

Goddamn right.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

And stop trying to have sex with them!

[Warty]

Um...it sounds like it's going to work just fine. I mean, not for the poor idiots who can't get jobs, but fuck them.

[jesse.in.mb]

I usually try not to troll my progressive friends, but I sent one a picture of McDonald's kiosks in Berlin with the caption "high labor cost fast food workers"

He was not amused.

[C. Anacreon]

Dammit, when are you going to realize that all fast-food workers have families of four to support?

[Paul.]

Sadly, the machine requires a family of four to support it. I drove through a Jack In the Box once, and their order confirmation screen had a Blue Screen of Death on it.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I don't understand? Don't you want the loving touch of a human handing you a muffin?

[Mrs. Lemuel Struthers]

I used the cashier today and she asked me what kind of cheese I wanted on my ham and Swiss sandwich.

Swiss cheese. I want Swiss cheese on my ham and Swiss. I really had that conversation.

[kbolino]

While I cannot say for certain that the cashier in question wasn't a moron, there are people who will e.g. order a BLT and complain about there being tomatoes on it.

[Ted S.]

There are other types of cheese in Switzerland besides Emmentaler.

[Mrs. Lemuel Struthers]

Yes, but I was not in Switzerland; I was in Jersey, and in Jersey there's only one kind of Swiss cheese.

[GILMORE?]

" in Jersey there's only one kind of Swiss cheese."

....

Jarlsberg, bitches.

[Swiss Servator]

Hey?!

[jesse.in.mb]

A coworker is a former fast food worker. She HATES fast food workers and is so excited for the kiosks. She tells stories about explaining her order in fluent English and Spanish to the cashiers and having them STILL get her order completely wrong.

If they replaced the cooks with robots I think she'd be in heaven.

[RBS]

But can you pump your own gas?

[RBS]

But can you pump your own gas?

[Mrs. Lemuel Struthers]

Depends on what you mean by "pump" and "gas".

[Michael]

An ISIS bomber disguised as a woman blew himself up at a mosque in Yemen, killing at least 10.

https://youtu.be/yRslJ6-ut4k?t=93

[Certified Public Asshat]

Elizabeth Warren tells Stephen Colbert why she would make a 'terrible' presidential candidate

"I'm out there every single day in the middle of a huge fight, and it's a fight about what this county is going to look like going forward," Warren said. "The game is rigged."

Colbert pressed her for details about the game.

"I'm talking about our country and how it's run," Warren said. "Here we are, the richest country on earth ? we have so much going for us, and yet we have a federal government that works great for millionaires, it works great for billionaires, it works great for giant corporations. It works great for anybody who can hire an army of lobbyists, an army of lawyers, give lots of campaign money. For the rest of America, it's just not working ? and it's time for us to take that government back and make it work for us."

Not much of an answer.

[Mad Scientist]

I like that her remedy for this problem is more of the same.

[Ted S.]

And they think giving government more power will solve the problem.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

That is one vapid woman.

[Certified Public Asshat]

Seriously.

Why would you make a bad candidate?

Because government doesn't work!

[Mad Scientist]

She's trying to position herself as an outsider.

[Paul.]

it works great for billionaires, it works great for giant corporations. It works great for anybody who can hire an army of lobbyists, an army of lawyers, give lots of campaign money. For the rest of America, it's just not working ? and it's time for us to take that government back and make it work for us."

She's one hundred percent right. Unfortunately, her fucking answer to this crisis is to create MORE of what creates and stimulates that army of lobbyists, lawyers and campaign money.

She really is that fucking stupid. Fuck her and everything she believes.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

The Game. I see. It's rigged because of Jews.

Which one of you is O'Neil and the other Murphy?

You expected Colbert to respond?

[Ted S.]

I didn't. In fact, I didn't watch at all.

[Sapient Mulch]

Trump/Warren 2016!

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

Feature, not a bug.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Pope name-checks Dorothy Day in speech

She founded the Catholic Worker movement and its eponymous newspaper, the Catholic Worker, and her ties to leftist leaders and activists drew her scrutiny from J. Edgar Hoover.

Absolutist in her pacifism, she vocally opposed the U.S.'s entrance into World War II. Hoover called her "a very erratic and irresponsible person," which she thought was funny.

In her autobiography, The Long Loneliness, Day echoed Marxist rhetoric to criticize industrial capitalism.

"[O]urs was a long-range program, looking for ownership by the workers of the means of production, the abolition of the assembly line, decentralized factories, the restoration of crafts and ownership of property," she wrote. "This meant, of course, an accent on the agrarian and rural aspects of our economy and a changing emphasis from the city to the land."

And like Francis, she was unflinching in her opposition to abortion.

Didn't Captain Kirk let her get run over by a truck?

[bacon-magic]

Trump/Francis 2016 "We are Yuuuge" "God, meet Pope. Pope, meet God." "We are going to build a wall everywhere and tithe you for it."

[Heroic Mulatto]

You know I watched CNN's fawning coverage of the Papal visit this morning, and I have to ask "How many f?ing Jews Catholics do these people think there are in the United States?"

Seriously, I had to double check to see if I hadn't flipped over to EWTN.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

My local news keeps getting interrupted by this shit and it pisses me off every time.

[Carl, Fighter of the Nightman]

Trigger warning: old links

Excellent work, guys

When the Justice Department arrested the chairman of Temple University's physics department this spring and accused him of sharing sensitive American-made technology with China, prosecutors had what seemed like a damning piece of evidence: schematics of sophisticated laboratory equipment [used in superconductor research known as a pocket heater] sent by the professor, Xi Xiaoxing, to scientists in China.

[...]

But months later, long after federal agents had led Dr. Xi away in handcuffs, independent experts discovered something wrong with the evidence at the heart of the Justice Department's case: The blueprints were not for a pocket heater.

Bon Jovi Adds Taiwan Show After China Cancellations

Bon Jovi has been frozen out of China, apparently because of the band's homage to the Dalai Lama, but [it]... will still have a few chances to try out the Mandarin-language song he's been practicing.

[...]

Fans in Taiwan will most likely hear Mr. Bon Jovi's rendition, in Mandarin, of the love song "The Moon Represents My Heart." The ballad, which he sang in a recent video, was made popular by the Taiwanese pop star Teresa Teng.

[Citizen X]

FUCK YO' BANK

[waffles]

You just made my afternoon better. Thanks for the link.

[Carl, Fighter of the Nightman]

Someone yelled at me for posting a story about the porn-star-laden Taiwanese metro cards without photos.

Well, here you go (SFW).

[Just say Nikki]

(SFW)

And you were thinking you wouldn't get yelled at for that?

[Paul.]

She's Japanese. She's 27. And she's a porn star.

Racist trigger warning:

She's Japanese, so she's anywhere between the age of 16 and 27-- no one can really tell.

[Warty]

OK, why don't Japanese pornstars make normal sex sounds? They just kind of...squeak. Is it some weird societal expectation for women to be submissive and quiet or something?

[Antilles]

And what's up with the dicks of male Japanese porn stars? They're always blurry and fuzzy...odd.

[Mad Scientist]

And so suction-cupy for some reason!

[Carl, Fighter of the Nightman]

"Normal" sounds? Off to re-education, you ethnonormative shitlord.

[Paul.]

I have to confess, it is distracting, and not in a good way.

[C. Anacreon]

They make the same noises when giving a mani-pedi.

[Antilles]

I always listen to my Japanese porn with the volume turned down because I don't want my mom to come down into the basement and catch me...

[Trshmnstr doesn't recycle]

This is probably old news by this point, but somebody made a documentary about Florida Man

[DEG]

There's also a Florida Man beer.

[AlmightyJB]

Wasn't Florida originally a penal colony?

[Carl, Fighter of the Nightman]

Field Notice: FN - 63697 - Protective Boot on Certain Network Cables Might Push the Mode Button and Cause an Unexpected Reset on the 48-Port Models of Cisco Catalyst 3650 and 3850 Series Switches

(If you're going "huh?" just click the link.)

[Notorious UGCC]

The Pope tried to warn us about these protective boots.

[Free Society]

But because of our greed, we didn't listen.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Poka-yoke ain't just a river in Japan.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Excellent, this almost makes up for posting about metro cards without pics.

Also, I don't feel like I 'yelled' so much as displayed my dissappointment.

[Carl, Fighter of the Nightman]

"I'm not angry at you, son, just disappointed."

[Pan Zagloba]

*standing ovation*

[Paul.]

Without clicking the link, true story:

One of my clinics had an old 2970 on a shelf in a swingout rack.

Someone adjusted the equipment, causing the mode button to press-and-hold-- forever against the rack frame.

Had to drive out to fix.

[Paul.]

By the way, did a project using those 3650s, that's bad design. Cicso needs to put the mode button back where God intended, away from the ports on the right side. Putting the mode button anywhere near where you're plugging in and removing cables... bad... bad bad bad bad.

[Paul.]

Oh, and snagless cables? Great idea in theory... annoying as fuck in practice.

[AlmightyJB]

is that geek porn?

[Warty]

There is an Iron Maiden song about Robin Williams. It's so dorky. I love it.

[Paul.]

Wow, they actually went with the Sad, Sad Clown of Life theme.

[AlmightyJB]

That reminds me of some other song but can't think what it is. Not Maiden. Something fairly recent.

[Notorious UGCC]

You mean this one?

You clicked it, didn't you? Sucker!

Wait, I should have waited a bit longer before gloating.

So anyway, go ahead and click.

[GILMORE?]

I See Nothing Odd About The Burka-Wearing Brazilian Heavy Metal Guitarist

[PapayaSF]

I want her to tour ISIS land.

[Notorious UGCC]

"Muslim heavy metal musician aims to break barriers, showing that burqas and guitars can go hand in hand. Sharon Reich reports."

"Am I evil," she asks, "or just misunderstood? I'm afraid there's been a communication breakdown."

A leading Muslim cleric, Sheikh Rat el-Enroul, says that "this so-called music sounds like she's ringing hell's bells," and that she is "running with the devil." But she says the sheikh is just paranoid.

"You want a war?" she asks. "Well, this is war, pigs. I will be screaming for vengeance."

[Jayburd]

Prominent Chinese dissident and human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng has broken his silence to describe how he was allegedly tortured and kept in solitary confinement while in detention.
A letter from Gao claimed that he endured ten days of torture that involved appalling beatings, abuse with electric batons, and the insertion of toothpicks into his genitalia, followed by weeks of emotional torture.

[Jayburd]

TACOMA, Wash. --" China's President Xi Jinping exchanged gifts with students during a visit to Tacoma's Lincoln High School Wednesday. But it was something he said that had all the kids buzzing.
Xi invited 100 of the students to visit China as his country's guests next year."

I would have given him an engraved cattle prod.